Art Dealer Pleads Guilty In Import Case

By BARRY MEIER

Published: June 24, 2004

A leading antiquities dealer pleaded guilty yesterday to a federal charge that he had falsified a customs document about the origins of an ancient silver ceremonial drinking vessel that his gallery later sold for $950,000.

The dealer, Hicham Aboutaam, the co-owner of Phoenix Ancient Art, acknowledged at a hearing in United States District Court in Manhattan that in 2000 he had falsely claimed that the object, known as a rhyton, had come from Syria when he believed that it was actually from Iran.

The Cleveland Museum of Art announced this week that it had bought what it thinks is an ancient bronze by the Greek sculptor Praxiteles from Phoenix Ancient Art, which has galleries in New York and Geneva.

During the court proceeding, Mr. Aboutaam apologized, saying that he had falsified the document because he had a client who was eager to buy the vessel and that he had been concerned that customs officials might delay approving its importation because of its Iranian origins. (Imports from Iran are severely restricted.)

Mr. Aboutaam was arrested at his Manhattan apartment in December and charged with smuggling, a felony, and with making false statements during the incident.

The charge to which he pleaded guilty is a misdemeanor. At his sentencing next month, Mr. Aboutaam faces a maximum prison term of six months and a fine of up to $5,000, under the guidelines being applied to his case.

At the time of the arrest, the authorities said the piece, shaped like a griffin, might be part of the Western Cave Treasure, hundreds of silver works discovered in the late 1980's in a cave near the Iran-Iraq border. The site was plundered soon after, and many of the pieces, which date to 700 B.C., passed into the market.

Evan Barr, an assistant United States attorney, said that federal officials had not decided what to do with the vessel once the government gained title to it. It was seized from its buyer, Paula Cussi, a collector and a Metropolitan Museum trustee.

Mr. Aboutaam runs Phoenix Ancient Art with his brother, Ali Aboutaam. Earlier this year, an Egyptian court convicted Ali Aboutaam in absentia for antiquities smuggling and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. He has denied any wrongdoing.